Who: The Presidio Trust and Arnold Palmer Golf welcome a herd of goats to the Presidio Golf Course to tame the overgrown ivy, blackberry and hemlock that have popped up around the links. The goats will arrive at 1:00pm on Tuesday, August 7 and will be corralled at the clubhouse for about an hour when the public can “meet the goats.” After all the goats are unloaded, they will be shepherded by three border collies to a site near the driving range.

What: The 250-300 Boer goats begin their culinary odyssey in an overgrown thicket behind the driving range. The hungry herd’s two-week tour of duty will be spent chomping through weeds and transforming them into natural fertilizer, allowing native grasses to flourish. Once the unwanted vegetation has been eaten back, not only can errant golf balls be retrieved, but serpentine soil will be revealed. The hope is long buried seeds will sprout, enabling native wildflowers and grasses to once again take root and thrive. The goats’ next stop will be a wetland area near the 4TH hole now thick with thistle and hemlock.

The project is part of a broader effort to upgrade the course using sustainable means whenever possible. Improvements are planned for every hole and bunker on the course, including the creation of so-called “fuzzy bunkers” using native plants and grasses. The result will be a course that is both more attractive and more challenging, with a less manicured and wilder look evocative of traditional Scottish links courses.

Originally constructed in 1895, the Presidio Golf Course is the second oldest course west of the Mississippi. Long restricted to members of the military and the exclusive Presidio Golf Club, the course was opened to public play 1995.

The goats are supplied by California Grazing, a holistic land management company that provides brush and weed control through grazing.”